Who was the bravest companion? [Ibn Hazm]

[Moin]

Who was the bravest companion?
By
Abu Muhammad Ibn Hazm



Introduction
This is one of the issues which Shia love to raise against the personality of companions like Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. Their problem is that they think bravery means killing people in Jihad and if someone couldn't kill with his power than he is not brave. And hence, they conclude, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar were not brave. If that is the case then people like Pharaoh, Nimrod, Stalin and all the mass murderers would have to be listed at the top of all the braves.

Among the believers Bara bin Malik al-Ansari single-handedly killed a hundred men besides those whom he killed with the help of others. Hamzah, Abu Dujanah, ‘Aasim bin Thabit, Talha, Zubair, Khalid, Sa’d were all known for their specialty in tackling the enemy. However, none preferred them over ‘Ali bin Abi Talib or over Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, may Allah be well pleased with them all just because they slayed more men.

Once a person presents himself to face the enemy he is proven to be a brave one regardless of how much of them he could kill or defeat. Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, never missed any battle with the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) and they were seen defending the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) during harsh conditions especially in Uhud and Hunain. How could such a person be coward? If it is just because there is hardly any narration describing how they killed a Mushrik during battle then what could be the response regarding the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) who never killed anyone in battle except Ubayy bin Khalaf? If they say that the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) was brave but he was a leader and hence did not get involved in fighting, then we shall let ‘Ali (ra) falsify this claim. Hence Imam Ahmad records in Musnad (1042), Abu Ya’la (302, 412) and others with an authentic Isnad through Abu Ishaq from Harithah bin Mudharrib that ‘Ali said:

لَمَّا حَضَرَ الْبَأْسُ يَوْمَ بَدْرٍ اتَّقَيْنَا بِرَسُولِ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَكَانَ مِنْ أَشَدِّ النَّاسِ، مَا كَانَ - أَوْ: لَمْ يَكُنْ - أَحَدٌ أَقْرَبَ إِلَى الْمُشْرِكِينَ مِنْهُ

“When the fighting grew intense on the day of Badr we sought shelter by drawing closer to the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam), who was one of the strongest of men, and no one was closer to the disbelievers than him.”

We see that during the harsh time even brave ones like ‘Ali (ra) used to seek shelter with the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) but still he did not kill anyone except Ubayy.

So what is bravery? Let us look at the meaning of Shaja’ah [Arabic of bravery] in Arabic dictionary. Al-Jawhari says in “As-Sihaah” (3/1235):

شدَّة القلب عند البأس

“It is the stability of heart during trial.”

Even the English word bravery means ‘able or ready to face and endure danger, disgrace or pain’. So not being able to kill someone or not being able to conquer some place does not indicate cowardice.

Indeed, those who were killed by ‘Ali during the battles were more than those who were killed by Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. But it only proves that ‘Ali encountered more famous combatants than them not that they were hiding for their life.

As for running away from battles then there is no indication that any of the two men left the battle field. There were two incidents in Prophetic history when Muslims ran from the battle field when they couldn't handle the enemies’ fierce attack. But in none of them, with any shred of evidence, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar left the battle field. So called proofs which some Shia authors quote to prove that they ran away from the battlefield are nothing but sheer misrepresentation of the context. If Allah willed I will compile a refutation on such arguments.

The following passage I translated from Minhaj as-Sunnah (8/87-89) of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah who quoted ‘Allamah Ibn Hazm from “Al-Fisal” (4/107).



Translation

Ibn Hazm said:

We see that they claim that ‘Ali was the greatest in waging Jihad against disbelievers and attacking and fighting them among all the companions.

Abu Muhammad (Ibn Hazm) said: This is wrong as the Jihad is classified in three categories;

1.   One of them is calling towards Allah,
2.   Second is to do Jihad during war by ideas and strategies
3.   And the third is to do jihad with hands by killing and hitting.

We find that with regards to the first type of Jihad no person supersedes Abu Bakr and ‘Umar after the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam). As for Abu Bakr then we find that the senior companions accepted Islam by his hands. As compared to him, ‘Ali does not have much share in this. As for ‘Umar then we see that the day he became Muslim Islam was strengthened and the worship of Allah was being done openly. This is the greatest Jihad and these two were alone in such Jihad of the first two categories (during the early days) whereas ‘Ali has no participation in it.

With regards to the second category then we find that it is specifically for Abu Bakr and then for ‘Umar.
As for the third category which is stabbing, hitting and combating then we find that it is the lowest level of Jihad because of the obvious reason that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam), with the agreement of Muslims, was selective in doing the most virtuous of acts and we see that his – may Allah sends Salaat and salutation upon him – Jihad in most of the cases was restricted within the first two categories which is to call towards Allah – the Mighty and Majestic – and planning strategically and carefully. His least involvement (among the three categories) was in stabbing, hitting and combating. This is not because of cowardice but in reality he was absolutely the bravest of all earthly beings with his hands and soul and the most complete to attain succor. But he would look for the best and then next after it from the acts, and then he would prefer it and get involved with it. We find that, during Badr and other battles, Abu Bakr would not leave him and sometimes even ‘Umar was included in it. They were distinguished in this case unlike ‘Ali and all other companions, except in rare cases.

Then after that we ponder over the third category of Jihad which is to stab, to hit and to combat. We see that ‘Ali was not alone in this, but many other companions also had the same share like Talha, Zubair and Sa’d and those were killed in early Islam like Hamza, ‘Ubaidah bin Harith  and Mus’ab bin ‘Umair, and from Ansar Sa’d bin Mu’adh, Simak bin Kharshah Abu Dujanah and others. Also Abu Bakr and ‘Umar do have good share in it even if they did not get involved in it like these people which is because of their participation in a better Jihad in association with the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) and to aid him during battles. And he sent them for war more than he sent ‘Ali. He sent Abu Bakr towards Bani Fazarah and elsewhere and he sent ‘Umar towards Bani Fulan. On the other hand we do not know ‘Ali was sent for any battle except at some fort of Khaibar which he conquered [and he had sent Abu Bakr and ‘Umar there, before ‘Ali, but they could not conquer it]. So Abu Bakr and ‘Umar were involved in the highest level of Jihad and besides that they have their share with ‘Ali in the lower category of Jihad.

********************

[Hani]

al-Salamu `Aleykum,


Very enlightening brother, is this your own personal translation? If so would you allow us to publish it as a separate article on out website? Or is it a part of a bigger piece you're working on and you wish to publish it yourself?


(I revised your piece and fixed grammatical errors and edited some formatting.)


And yes I agree that no authentic narrations mention that Abu Bakr and `Umar fled, rather some authentic ones mention otherwise.

[sword_of_sunnah]

I think, we need to wait until, brother moin, writes a refutation of those references Shia keep quoting to prove that Sheikhein were cowards, ma'azAllah.

[Hani]

I think, we need to wait until, brother moin, writes a refutation of those references Shia keep quoting to prove that Sheikhein were cowards, ma'azAllah.

Remember I opened a topic about it on the old forum? They're all refuted already but I forgot where.


A- There's authentic narrations proving they never fled.
B- The opposite narrations are weak.

[Moin]

al-Salamu `Aleykum,


Very enlightening brother, is this your own personal translation? If so would you allow us to publish it as a separate article on out website? Or is it a part of a bigger piece you're working on and you wish to publish it yourself?


(I revised your piece and fixed grammatical errors and edited some formatting.)


And yes I agree that no authentic narrations mention that Abu Bakr and `Umar fled, rather some authentic ones mention otherwise.

Wa'alaikumussalam

It is a part of the refutation I am writing on the book of Toyib. I made it into a separate article because of the importance this topic has. You can post it. I would suggest you to post it with introduction, but if you want to publish only translated portion then you can do it. I do not have any problem.

[Moin]

I think, we need to wait until, brother moin, writes a refutation of those references Shia keep quoting to prove that Sheikhein were cowards, ma'azAllah.

Yes I'll be responding to those narrations and arguments which are quoted by Toyib in his book. Insha Allah

[MuslimK]

Yes, Hani publish it on the twelvershia.net before the blogger from islamistruth.wordpress posts it

[Hani]

Yes, Hani publish it on the twelvershia.net before the blogger from islamistruth.wordpress posts it

He says he wants to research all the narrations involved, it's better to publish them all together.

[sword_of_sunnah]

Akhee you may include even these reports:

The bravery and courage of Abubakr(ra) narrated by Ahlelbayt(ra).

Once during his caliphate, Ali ibn Abee Taalib stood up before the people and delivered the following sermon: “O people, who is the bravest of all people?” Those that were present answered, “You are, O Leader of the Believers.” Ali said, “Lo, I never entered into a duel with another man except that I came out victorious over him. And yet, the bravest of all people was none other than Abu Bakr Ra. We once build a command centre for the Messenger of Allah SAW, and we said, “Who will stay with the Messenger of Allah SAW, so as to prevent the polytheists from attacking him? By Allah, not a single one of us approached (to volunteer for the job) except for Abu Bakr Ra, who, with his sword unsheathed, stood over the head of the Messenger of Allah SAW. Abu Bakr Ra then fought against anyone who tried to attack.

I remember the time when I saw the Quraish opposing the Prophet SAW and physically shaking him violently, and all the while they were saying to him, “Have you taken our Gods and made them into one God!” By Allah, not a single one of us stepped forward (to defend him) except for Abu Bakr Ra, who struggled against and struck one man and pushed violently another; all the while he was saying (to them), “Woe upon you, are you fighting against a man because he says: My Lord is Allah?” Ali Ra then lifted the robe he was wearing, and he began to cry until his beard became soaked in tears. He then continued, “I ask you by Allah, was the believer from the family of the Pharaoh better or Abu Bakr?” The attendees of the gathers then began to cry along with Ali Ra, who said, “By Allah, Abu Bakr for an hour is better than the believer of the family of the Pharaoh even if clones of him were to fill the entire earth: the latter kept his faith a secret while the former openly proclaimed his faith”[Al-Bidaayah Wan-Nihaayah (3/271, 272)]

Similarly it was also reported in Al mustadrak:

Ali’s RA nephew Muhammad Bin Aqeel bin Abu Talib May Allah be pleased with him told us: Ali made a Sermon to us and he said: O people, Who was the bravest amongst the people? We said: You O Ameer al Mumineen, He said: That is Abu Bakr al Siddeeq when we were on the day of Badr we placed a cover for the Prophet PBUH to shade him and we said: Who will stand near him When the Mushriks come seeking him and would prevent them? And Abu bakr was the one who stood up and he raised his sword above his head whenever a person came near the prophet PBUH he would strike them with it… (He continues in a long hadith)…Then Ali asked his companions: By Allah I ask you, which of the two is best? a believer of the folk of Pharaoh or Abu bakr? The people remained silent, Ali then Said: By Allah Abu Bakr is much better than a believer from the folk of Pharaoh, That is a Man who kept his belief hidden in his heart So Allah Praised him But Abu Bakr had sacrificed his self and his blood for Allah.(Al Mustadrak (3/67) He said SAHIH on the condition of Muslim and Imam al Thahabi Agreed with him.)



Ali(ra) reports: “Never have I known anyone to have emigrated but in secret with the exception of umar. When he resolved to emigrate, he took his sword, picked up his bow, grabbed some arrows and headed for the kabah where the elite of Quraysh were. He performed the circumambulation, performed two rakahs at Abraham’s station, then stopped at each of their rings and said, Misshapened are the faces: let anyone who wants his mother to lose him, his son to be made an orphan and his wife to be widowed, meet me beyond that valley. However nobody dared take one step after him.”(reported by ibn Asaakir) (Biographies of the rightly guided caliphs page 150)

Ibn abbas(ra): When umar embraced islam, the disbelievers said, “only today have people taken vengeance on us”.(reported by Al bazaar and Al hakim) (Biographies of the rightly guided caliphs page 149)

[Moin]

The first narration as far as I know is weak. Second one I do not find in Mustadrak but it is same as it seems from the text. I avoided it intentionally. I will check for the last two and use it if necessary.

[Moin]

Yes, Hani publish it on the twelvershia.net before the blogger from islamistruth.wordpress posts it

He says he wants to research all the narrations involved, it's better to publish them all together.

Shubuhat will never cease to appear. I think its better you publish only this much for now. Rest will be covered under the refutation of Toyib Insha ALlah.

[Hani]

this article has been published on the site with a few additions.

[Abubakar]

this article has been published on the site with a few additions.

That is a great piece